Author: Guest Writer

Long-term care is when an individual requires physical and emotional care for an extended period of time. These types of help are typically the activities that normal and active people take for granted. Some of these are walking, using the bathroom, bathing, pain management, eating, doing errands and help with incontinence.

Most people only find out about long-term care when they or a loved-one requires it. Then their options become limited because of a lack of information and insufficient finances to pay for certain services. For this reason, it is important to plan for long-term care. 70 percent of individuals above the age of 65 require long term care. So, if you live beyond this age you are most likely going to require this type of care and this likelihood only increases with age. So why is long term care important?

Service Options – By planning ahead, you will be able to determine all the services that your community offers and the special conditions that are eligible for receiving a type of service. You will also be able to determine the cost of services and the different payment options (public or private). Knowing this information will allow you to make better decisions when you require long term care. It allows you to take control of your future.

Save Money on Long Term Care – Planning ahead for long-term care is important because the cost of care now exceeds an average person’s income and resources. Planning for this type of care allows you to save your assets and income. You then have the ability to use your finances for other pursuits such as enjoying your golden years or leaving a part of it to your loved ones.

Planning for long-term care also helps your family members since they do not have to bear the entire financial burden. It allows you to involve your family in making decisions without depending on them for everything.

Greater Independence – The most important advantage of planning for long-term care early is the independence and control it gives you over your future. You can choose the type of long-term care you will receive. You also have the choice of living outside of a facility and live at home instead. You also decide the length of time you will receive these services.

Some families find it difficult to discuss long-term care with their aging loved ones. Adult children feel that they are patronizing their parents. But discussing and planning for long-term care is important and will benefit everyone.

It’s amazing what a little time off can do for your attitude towards work. It’s why so many of us love to jet abroad for a week-long getaway each year: we come back feeling refreshed, relaxed and ready to tackle the weeks ahead. But if you don’t have a holiday planned in the imminent future, and would like to get that same energized enthusiasm for your career, there are other ways to do so. Coaching is an increasingly popular way to achieve this.
Although there are often negative connotations associated with the word ‘therapy,’ the two are not all that dissimilar. A good coach can listen neutrally to you, help assess your current situation and make positive changes in your life.

For those who feel like they are in a career lull, bored of the same everyday routine, a new challenge could be what awaits you – and don’t worry, even those with the most fulfilling careers can feel like this occasionally.

Here are 3 key areas that coaching can help you with, whilst helping you get out of that rut and enjoy working again:

1. Helps to build confidence.
If you have been in one position or industry for a long time, the thought of leaving that familiarity can be very daunting. Sometimes it can feel more secure to stay in your accustomed bubble. But, more often than not, all you need is a confidence boost to make the changes that you want in your career. A coach can offer the encouragement required to believe in yourself- whether this is through interview techniques for a new position or the courage to speak with your superior and re-negotiate your current contract.

2. Become objectiveabout yourself.
A coach can offer objectivity. It’s difficult to accurately review ourselves. Similarly, when a partner, friend or family member offers advice or an opinion, it is often biased in the hope of being supportive. But, to break old habits you will need tough love. Acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses can give you a new sense of direction, and an outsider is the best way to achieve this.
Not only can this new awareness help you differentiate between your desire for a new routine or a new lifestyle altogether, but it can mean you have the opportunity to make effective alterations to inject more happiness into your daily humdrum activities. We spend the majority of our days in the workplace so you may as well make the most of it.

3. Set achievable goals.Experience with business clients gives coaches the knowledge to know what goals are feasible within a set time frame. Aiming to ‘turn your life around’ in a fortnight is not only unrealistic, but can leave you feeling deflated when it doesn’t happen – despite being impracticable in the first place. Emotions can often overwhelm us and trigger impulsive decision but having an objective person for support can ensure that you don’t throw in the towel without a proper plan.

When you’re in a rut in your career, it’s always a good idea to evaluate your current situation, look at where you want to be, and what you’re capable of. Then it’s just about receiving the push to get it done. This is what coaching is ideal for. The renowned philosopher Albert Schweitzer famously said: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Finding what you love is half the battle. Learning how to implement it is the other. In this sense, life coaching may not be imperative for your career, but just like a sunny day, although it might not always be needed, it sure makes a different when it’s there.

Bev James is the managing director of The Coaching Academy who trains and mentors life coaches across the UK. Bev enjoys her life as a successful serial entrepreneur, coach, and business mentor.”

Choosing life insurance can be an onerous task. It doesn’t just make you think about all the bad things that could happen to you and your family, it makes you think about it in detail. On top of that, you then have to decide what type of insurance you need, what level of cover is best, and which insurance provider to go for.

It can be enough to put you off altogether. But, try not to be discouraged. Here are a few guidelines on what not to do. After all, once you know what not to do, the rest should fall into place!

Don’t settle

As we said, it can be easy to get discouraged when you are looking for life insurance. There are so many options, so many insurance providers and so many insurance products. Wading through them can seem like a huge task. However, it’s never a good idea to settle. Don’t just go for the first half-decent option, just so you can stop looking. Taking some extra time should mean you get life insurance that actually suits you – and at a better price. If you’re hung up on where to start, you can begin with a quote from mainstream providers.

Don’t be uninformed

Knowledge is power, as they say. Knowledge is also the key to finding the best life insurance. Do some research to find out what type of life insurance products are out there, and try to find out more about each insurer. This should help you to find a product that suits you, any extras that need to be added on, with an insurer that is professional and offers the kind of service that benefits you.

Don’t be pushed

Once you know what you want, you will also know what you don’t want. While some insurers may try to convince you to buy certain products or extras, it may be the case that you don’t actually need them. As long as you know what you need, you won’t waste money on anything you don’t need.

Don’t be put off by prices

When you find out the price of the policy you’re interested in, there can be a certain amount of ‘sticker shock’. Try not to be put off by prices. As long as you take the time to find out what level of cover you need, as well as what’s on offer, then you know you will be getting the best deal for the type of cover that suits you. And remember, life insurance offers valuable protection – it’s not really something you want to scrimp on.

Don’t let someone else fill in the forms

There is often one person in the household that deals with the finances and paperwork. However, you must make sure that you are the one who answers any questions about you, when life insurance applications and paperwork are being completed. However well you and your partner know each other, it’s still possible that incorrect information could be given. This could lead to a void policy, or a claim being denied.

Don’t undervalue non-working partners

Non-working partners and partners that work part-time are often undervalued on life insurance policies. Often, we only pay attention to the actual paychecks that come into the household, and forget about all the work that goes on around the house. However, if you think how much it would cost if an outside party was brought in to do those tasks, the costs would really add up.

Don’t just forget about it

Unfortunately, you can’t just forget about your policy once you have purchased it. It’s more than likely that your life insurance will need to be updated over the years. Try to have a look over your policy every year or so, or when there is a life-changing event in your family. Update your policy as required, to be sure you are still covered for any lifestyle changes.

Whether it is car, house, pet, possessions or life insurance, we all have insurance in the hope that we will never have to use it. However, this does not make insurance generally any less important to have.

Professional indemnity insurance is often a much forgotten insurance when it comes to business; however if you are a sole trader or in a partnership, you won’t be afforded the same protection as that of a limited company or limited partnership. If you are negligent or even make an innocent mistake which causes financial loss to a client/customer, then it is not just your business which will have to pay out for legal fees and compensation, but also your home if your business has insufficient assets to meet the costs. Professional indemnity insurance is absolutely crucial if you are a sole trader, or in a partnership where you are offering advice or other services whereby people rely on you for accurate information and a 100% accurate service.

In the present day and age of the ‘claim culture,’ you can almost guarantee that no matter how well you get on with your customers or clients, if you have not given them precisely what was promised, then you are highly likely to face a claim.

It is easy to go along with the day-to-day business matters and take a ‘cross that bridge when we come to it approach’, but seriously and honestly consider the following before you take this laid-back approach; how will you pay for legal costs in defending a claim made against you? How will you pay compensation for loss suffered by your client? How much money do you have set aside for dealing with potential claims? What would you do if your business has insufficient realisable assets to cover the financial costs?

If you are worried about adding another expense to your business with professional indemnity premiums, then think seriously about whether you should risk carrying on in business until you can afford to have such insurance. It is one thing risking your business, but quite another to risk your home and livelihood as well. If you are a sole trader, freelancer offering a service or in a partnership, you cannot really afford not to have professional indemnity insurance.

It was not so very long ago that refinancing a mortgage was an easy decision. Rates were low and values seemed ready to rise forever. Millions of homeowners were cashing in on their growing equity, often walking away with a double win: lower monthly payments and a nice big check. It was the best of all possible real estate worlds.

The mortgage landscape has changed a great deal since those halcyon days, and today’s homeowner needs to look more carefully at the implications of refinancing an existing loan. There are still many reasons to refinance, but there are pitfalls to consider as well.

Good Reasons to Refinance

In almost every case, the best reason to refinance is to save money, and the simplest way to save is with a lower interest rate. If rates will be significantly lower on a new loan than they are on an existing loan, savings naturally follow. For example, a loan of $100,000 that carries an interest rate of 5 percent costs $5,000 in interest every year. If the rate can be reduced to 4 percent, that represents a saving of $1,000 annually.

Every prospective borrower does not get the same interest rate. Instead, the rate paid by a given borrower is customized according to that borrower’s specific circumstances. The biggest influence on the rate is the creditworthiness of the borrower. If your credit score has improved since you last took out a loan, there is a very good chance that you can get a lower rate now.

You may also be able to save because of changes in things you cannot control. If the amount of the loan was high when the property was purchased, that loan may have been categorized as a “jumbo” loan, a category that comes with higher rates. The cut-off for jumbo loans changes every year, though, and you may find that your loan amount no longer falls within jumbo parameters. In that case, it can make sense to investigate a conventional loan at a lower rate.

Saving money may be the single best reason to refinance, but not all refinances are motivated by savings. Borrowers often want to tap some of their home equity, whether to pay bills, finance an education, make improvements to the property or for any of a hundred reasons. This can be a perfectly valid choice, but borrowers should remember that they are using their homes as collateral and consider the risk involved.

Good Reasons to Think Twice

Regardless of interest rates or property values, borrowers should know that a refinance resets the mortgage clock. If an existing loan has a 30 year term, a new loan will start from scratch. If a loan has been outstanding for five years or more, the borrower is starting to see more principal included in each payment. With any new loan, the first few years are almost entirely devoted to interest payments.

The second issue to consider is whether the decrease in rate is enough to make the transaction worthwhile as a whole. Almost all loans have closing costs. If those costs are high, they can outweigh any savings that come from a lower interest rate.

The borrower’s plans play a part in the tradeoff between closing costs and rate. If Borrower A pays $5,000 in closing costs while saving $1,000 per year on monthly payments, he will not recoup those closing costs if he plans to sell the house next year. Borrower B, however, who plans to be in the home for the next 20 years, will see savings after the first five years and will save enough over the life of the loan to more than make up for the initial costs.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) can also be a factor. PMI is a monthly cost that is typically applied to mortgages when the loan-to-value ratio exceeds 80 percent. A borrower may not have faced PMI when he purchased the property, but, if the house has lost value, PMI may suddenly be required.

Even if they can be approved for a mortgage, borrowers who have had recent credit issues may run into problems. Lenders save their lowest rates for their most creditworthy borrowers. Borrowers with credit issues often find themselves faced with higher rates when trying to refinance, a situation that is the reverse of the one facing borrowers who are refinancing with improved credit scores.

We’re less than a full month into the new year. Did you make any resolutions? If so, how’re they doing?

If you’ve already broken your New Year’s resolution, don’t be too hard on yourself. It turns out that the odds were stacked against you. A study in 2007 by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol showed that 88% of people who make New Year resolutions fail to keep them.

Those are pretty dismal numbers when you consider it. A lot of people break their resolutions and feel depressed. But as the Japanese proverb says “Fall 7 times, stand up 8”. So, how can you salvage your new year’s resolutions?

Remember why you made the resolution: It came from somewhere. So take a moment and try to reconnect with the original impulse. Life distracts us, so try to focus past the distractions and find what you had desired.

Discard the resolutions that don’t come from you: Too often we resolve to do the things we think we should do, rather than the things we want to do. When you have no personal attachment to your resolutions, it’s a lot easier to break them.

Reschedule your New Year: January is actually a bad time to start many resolutions. If we take weight loss as our example: gyms are more crowded than ever before, and the weather isn’t always friendly towards going outside and exercising. If any of these things are impacting your resolutions, why not wait until the spring? Good resolutions are a challenge, but there’s no reason that you shouldn’t stack the odds in your favor.

Redefine your resolution: Try taking your goal and breaking it into smaller increments. For example, if you want to lose 36 pounds in the year, instead set yourself a more achievable goal of 3 pounds per month. This gives you a number of smaller goals that you can achieve and celebrate, helping you build momentum and retain your focus, even as you move towards achieving your larger overall resolution.

Make use of your support network: We live in a world more connected than ever before. This means that supportive friends are as close as the smart phone in your pocket or the nearest computer. By sharing your resolutions with your support network, you gain people to help you when you’re struggling and who can celebrate with you while you succeed.

If at first you don’t succeed…: We get too focused on failure. If you could change your behaviour without any problems then you wouldn’t need to make resolutions in the first place. If we learn from our mistakes, then we give ourselves a far better toolkit for long-term success than we would if we had succeeded without any problems or challenges.

Most people are concerned about money. If you aren’t a millionaire, you are most likely part of this group. Money – we never seem to have enough of it and are always looking at ways to spend less of it.

For the average person, the concept of taking control of their financial destiny consists of little more than having a 401(k) at a job they most likely don’t care too much for. Few people take true control of their financial destiny.

One way to have greater control over how much money you have is to be an entrepreneur. While not the right option for many (if not most) people, being your own boss has been the key to financial security for a large group of people. If you are looking for a way out of the grind of your 9-to-5, you might consider being your own boss. While the risks involved are many, the potential payout is exponentially greater than anything most people will ever see working for the man.

Below are some pros and cons of being an entrepreneur:

Pros to Being Your Own Boss

It is easier to get a raise when you are in control versus being an employee.

Your entrepreneurial success is generally tied to how hard you work. When working as an employee, most times your hard work is not recognized. Employees that work hard are rewarded the same as those that do the bare minimum to get by.

There is no greater freedom from being your own boss, having the ability to do what you want, when you want, without someone telling you what to do.

The upside has a huge potential. If you are a successful entrepreneur, you can have huge financial gains that are beyond the imagination of the typical employee.

Cons to Being Your Own Boss

No certainty that you will succeed. As a matter of fact, most small businesses fail in the first 5 years.

Uncertain income can lead to a great deal of stress.

Most likely, you will have to put in a lot of time and effort before you see any results. A successful outcome is never guaranteed, even if you put in the time and effort.

You deal with everything, good and bad, which is something most employees don’t have to worry about.

You never really get away from your business. Even when you are on vacation, you are the person in charge.

Never As Easy As It Seems

Being a successful business owner is a lot of hard work. Period. Don’t believe anybody who tells you otherwise. There is no such a thing as getting rich overnight as your own boss.

Most people are not cut out to work for themselves. Most people should be employees, working for someone else. But, for the fortunate few that take the risks and become a successful entrepreneur, the potential payoffs are worth the pain it took to get there.

Take Control of Your Financial Destiny

While you are clipping your coupons and shopping for the best deal to try to stretch your dollars, just keep in mind that there may be another answer for you. Maybe you should take some time and consider if being an entrepreneur might be something that would be a good fit for you. Fortunately, you can explore your options while you keep your day job. You can even get your feet wet while you continue to work for the man, though doing so will be equivalent to working two full-time jobs, at the very least.

Entrepreneurs control their financial destiny. They don’t spend their time clipping coupons or shopping for a deal. They spend their time building a business that will give them the financial freedom they yearn for and deserve.

You have the choice if you want to be an employee or if you want to be the boss. Choose wisely, as the decision you make will greatly impact your financial future.

About the Author:

Guest post by Marshall Davis of Business Service Reviews, a website that reviews products and services that help entrepreneurs start, grow and maintain successful small businesses. His new interview series, Talking Small Biz, will shed some light on how different entrepreneurs are finding success in their chosen field.

The following is a guest post from Neal Frankle. He is a Certified Financial Planner in Los Angeles and owner of Wealth Pilgrim, one of my all-time favorite personal finance blogs.

You may not have grown up with good financial habits being modeled all around you. Most people I know didn’t. I know I didin’t.

To make matters worse, financial advisors, for the most part, aren’t going to help you in this arena either. Even though your budgeting is the foundation of your financial security, there is no money in it for advisors to help you here so very few do.

The good news is, you can be the master of your budget without much education or training. And you don’t even need sophisticated software to do a good job. Here are the basics of budget coaching that you can do for yourself.

1. Intel

The first thing you need is information. You need to know how much it costs you to live. Or, let me put it another way. You need to know how much money you spend, on average, each month.

One way to do this is by writing everything down. When I was a young financial advisor, that’s what I asked clients to do. The weird thing is…nobody did it. After about 5 years of being disappointed by non-compliance I came up with another suggestion.

Look at your bank statements. This idea, if I must say so myself, is genius. If you pay all your bills from one checking account (and if you aren’t doing this, why not?) you can simply look at the total monthly distributions. Every checking account monthly statement summarizes those distributions so that, in effect, is what you spend.

Of course, if your credit card bills (or other debts) rise or fall, that will mean you either spend more or less. But for most of us, the total withdrawals from our checking accounts tells us what we spend on average each month. Go get your bank account statements from each of the last 24 months and tally up your average monthly spending. It’s a powerful number to know. I encourage everyone to use this method (in addition to the method below) because it gives you a big picture view. You will know very quickly if you are spending too much compared to your income. It’s staring you right in the face.

The third method is to use a budget tracking software package program. If you go this route, you can download your transactions right into your software without doing much work yourself. This will give you the details you’ll need to make the decisions about what to cut and by how much.

2. Values and Goals.

The next step is to evaluate whether or not your spending is in line with what you value most. For example, if your dream is to travel to a third-world country and help cure disease, it would be appropriate to budget in an aggressive saving plan for travel. But if that’s your goal and you spend your savings on trips to Vegas every other month, it won’t be difficult to see which financial behaviors need to change.

Likewise, if your goals are to create financial security for your family, it will be important for you to be clear on that and keep that goal in mind when you examine your spending. If you spend more than you earn, clearly your behaviors are out of synch with your goals and values.

3. Pow Wow

The third step towards financial health is to get total commitment from everyone in your family. The way I figure it, everyone is involved in spending so they have to buy in to the new approach. Talk about what’s changing and why. Explain the benefits of making these changes and talk about the changes the family (collectively and individually) are considering. Don’t make it an edict. Get everyone’s input and commitment.

Finally, have monthly meetings to discuss progress. Don’t expect perfection because it doesn’t exist. Make allowances for people going over budget. Just gather the family together every month and discuss what went right and what could have gone better. Get input from everyone to determine how they see things.

Using these 3 steps, you’ll be able to transform your financial situation dramatically and rather quickly. At least that’s been my experience.

What about you? Have you ever had to make big changes in your spending? How did you handle the situation?

The current housing market has caused many people to choose to stay in their homes a little longer rather than purchasing a new home.

Houses are not selling for very much right now, so in order to avoid losing money, many homeowners are renovating their current houses instead.

Whether you are repairing your own home or “flipping” another, there are several steps you should take before you start working on your projects.

First of all, make sure you can afford the repairs while making the house payments before you invest in a “fixer-upper”. Use a mortgage calculator to figure out what the monthly payments are and make sure that you have extra money left over for supplies and emergencies.

If you are renovating your own home, make sure that the repairs are going to be worth it. With a mortgage calculator, figure out the total amount of money you will have paid toward your mortgage by the time you plan to sell. Add the total amount that you plan to spend on repairs. If you are comfortable with the total, proceed with the preparations.

Make a list of all the repairs and renovations projects that you want to work on. Highlight the projects that are most important to you. Make a new list and place the projects in order of priority.

Next, research every single project that you expect to complete. Find the most cost-effective solutions, methods and materials for each project.

Look into which types of renovations turn over the most profit. For every location, there is a threshold that the value of the home will not surpass.

So, if you live in an area where homes sell for $150,000, but you spend more than that in renovations or you add luxuries to your home that exist in $400,000 homes, you will probably not see much profit.

Amazing renovations will probably cause your home to sell more quickly, but the price will remain within the same bracket. Unfortunately, location is the factor that affects cost the most.

Use a mortgage calculator to figure out what price bracket your home is in and what kind of income potential buyers will have to make to be able to afford it.

After completing your research, make a list of all the materials you will need. Estimate the price of each project as well as the length of time it will take to complete them.

Schedule out when you will work on each project. Take weather into consideration. Work on indoor projects during harsh weather and outdoor projects during mild weather.

Mark out the schedule on a calendar. Make several copies and give them to your contractor or anyone else who will be working with you. Sharing an online calendar might be a more convenient method, since you can make edits or changes at any time.

Make sure that your schedule is logical. Unless it makes sense to do otherwise, complete one room or area at a time. Working on three rooms at the same time will cause an overwhelming mess that will make you less likely to complete the project.

For most of us, green is the color of money. But in business, going “green” means something a little different: shifting from products and services potentially harmful to the environment to using sustainable materials and/or production processes that reduce or eliminate potentially negative impact on the planet. For many businesses, however, going green is much easier said than done. Consumers are now starting to look far more frequently for environmentally conscious products and brands.

Banks have always been in the business of managing green. Now, however, consumers (just like you) are demanding that banks not only tend to our green, but become green themselves as well. Financial institutions are just starting to appreciate and understand the growing importance of transforming themselves into eco-friendly banking entities.

So, what defines an eco-friendly bank? While certainly a timely phrase, even a little catchy, the key question is whether or not a bank that claims to be eco-friendly really engages in conduct environmentally responsible enough to be considered ‘green’. If you base some or all of your purchasing decisions on the environmental policies of an organization, what do you need to know when evaluating so-called eco-friendly banks?

Well, let’s start by looking at what we mean when we say “eco-friendly banks”. For starters, there is no concrete definition and no hard or fast rule that determines what constitutes a ‘green’ bank. Factors that determine whether a bank should be considered eco-friendly, while somewhat varied, do share a critical underlying theme: Social and environmental responsibility.

So how do banks exhibit such responsibility? At first glance, it might appear that the ability of banks to influence positive change for the environment is somewhat limited. After all, they’re simply banks; they don’t produce much in the way of tangible products, neither manufacturing nor distributing goods. Some would argue that this limits what environmentally sound practices you can expect from your bank. And they would be wrong.

Banks may not build anything per se. Without banks providing the money, however, most of the time, nothing gets built. No matter where the money may have come from initially, a bank is usually involved in the distribution of capital necessary for companies to build factories, to manufacture and transport goods to market and provide support for those products. From service industries to the capital-intensive concerns that include automotive, industrial and construction industries, commerce requires the involvement of banks to some degree or another.

If we presume (and we’ll get back to this) that the day-to-day operation of a bank does not have a significant impact on the environment, the banking industry as a whole certainly does.

Do those loans support sustainable production and distribution practices?

How do banks screen their applicants for environmental consciousness, if at all?

Are loan recipients a part of the solution or part of the problem of climate change, for example?

Eco-friendly banks also fund eco-friendly industries such as alternative energy, local agri-business (minimizing energy and other costs associated with transporting goods to market), local fishing industry and local merchants.

And, contrary to our earlier presumption, eco-friendly banks can effectuate positive environmental change in their daily operations, with some being simple and immediate and others requiring significant advanced planning. With respect to the former, things such as lighting and insulation can be modernized fairly quickly. Insulation, window treatments, and thermostat controlled building interiors are all effective tools for reducing energy consumption.

Consumers can inquire as to the bank’s policies regarding the construction of its own properties. More and more banks are making their buildings eco-friendly by following the U.S. Green Building Council standards which include such criteria as rooftop solar energy panels, steel structures made from recycled metals and carpeting made from fully recycled materials. In the alternative, check to see which of the banks you are considering adhere to the building standards called LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

One additional area where a bank can impact the environment on a day-to-day basis is by reducing the amount of travel it requires of its employees. Banks that let their employees work remotely from home also helps to reduce energy consumption and pollution. So do those who offer their workers incentives for taking public transportation or purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles such as hybrids or electric cars.

Eco-friendly banks can also establish their green bona fides in the form of the banking products or services they sell. Online banking, for example, reduces paper consumption, requires no driving, results in less mail and uses fewer branch resources.

Some banks are providing ‘green’ mortgages at better interest rates for the purchase of energy efficient homes or for making a home more eco-friendly. ‘Green’ affinity credit cards are becoming an increasingly popular product, allowing customers the ability to contribute to environmental organizations and socially responsible causes while making their purchases. Many of these cards also have incentives such as cash back rewards that are comparable to many of the big banks rewards programs.

The following 10 banks are considered among the best of those that have integrated sound environmentally friendly policies into their business practices effectively:

ING Direct (ingdirect.com)

New Resource Bank (newresourcebank.com)

Green Choice Bank (greenchoicebank.com)

One Pacific Coast Bank (onepacificcoastbank.com)

Permaculture Credit Union (pcuonline.org)

Rabobank (rabobankamerica.com)

Citizens Bank (citizensbank.com)

PNC (pnc.com)

HSBC (us.hsbc.com)

TD Bank (tdbank.com)

There are, of course, others. What all eco-friendly banks have in common is their focus on policies that are earth friendly and socially responsible and many of these banks are having far more of a social and environmental impact than most consumers realize.

This is a guest contribution from Bill Hazelton, CEO of Credit Card Assist where he provides tips, news, advice and recommendations on all things credit card-related. Find him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Car insurance for teenagers can cost as much as five times more than the rates for adults. This is because of the greater driving risk involved in teenagers evidenced by greater number of accidents and higher number of serious injuries and fatalities compared to adult drivers.

In order to lower actual rates and maximize your teen’s auto insurance coverage, you can give your teen a simpler or older car; let your teen keep a good driving record; let him keep a clean insurance record; enroll him to a driver safety education; get your teen a safer car; let him maintain good academic grades; keep the mileage low; keep the car safe; and apply for multiple policies with your insurance company. To help you save on auto insurance costs for your teenager, here are proven tips you can consider:

Give your teen a simpler or older car

A brand new sports car would make a very nice birthday gift for your beloved teen, but if you want to save to insurance costs, this would not be a smart move. Remember that one of the factors that make up an expensive car insurance would be a brand new car because of its high book value. A sports car would also be expensive to insure with its higher horsepower compared to a four-door sedan. With a stronger car, your teen would tend to drive faster, making it more prone to accidents and damages. If you are giving your teen an older car model, you can also save by dropping collision coverage.

Let your teen keep a good driving record

If this is not your first year in getting your teen a car insurance and he or she had a good driving record, you can ask for a discount from your insurance provider. Most auto insurance companies give discounts to drivers who have not been issued a ticket or those who have not been involved in any accident since they have been driving. Remind your teen that it always pays to be a good driver.

Let him keep a clean insurance record

Aside from having a good driving record, insurance costs may also be lowered if your teen keeps a clean insurance record. It is advisable for him to keep from claiming for very minor car damages from insurance companies in order to avail of discounts.

Enroll him to a driver safety education

Some states require teenagers to get driving lessons first before he gets a driver’s license. Aside from this condition, the cost of getting a car insurance quote for teenagers may also be reduced if your teen had been enrolled to a driving course before driving his own car, most especially if he had good grades. The insurance company would most likely give discounts to responsible student drivers who have had lessons to safe driving than to those who have not.

Get your teen a safer car

Just like in applying auto insurance for adult-driven cars, discounts also apply to teenager-driven cars with safety features. Airbags, anti-lock brake systems, and alarm systems can help lower the insurance cost of your teen’s auto insurance as they reduce risk for injuries as well as theft and damages.

Let him maintain good academic grades

Yes, indeed. If your teen proves to have good grades in school, most especially if he is in the honor roll, you can avail of the good student discount. Most insurance companies offer this incentive to responsible students who are most likely more sensible and responsible too when it comes to driving.

Keep the mileage low

When you ask for auto insurance quotations, companies do ask for estimated mileage your teen has to travel from residence to destination, as well as estimated annual mileage. As much as possible, advice your teen to keep his mileage low and use the car only when needed. Do not encourage weekend road trips and the like. Higher mileage leads to higher risk of meeting accidents, thus resulting to higher insurance cost.

Keep the car safe

Another very important determining factor for insurance premium is the place where your teen brings and parks his car. Insurance companies will be asking where the car will usually be brought and parked. Is the school parking safe? Are the places he goes safe enough, too or are there many reported cases of car thefts and damages? If at home, does he park his car in a covered garage or just outside the apartment? Of course, the more risky the situation, the higher the insurance cost.

Apply for multiple policies with your insurance company

If your teen’s insurance provider with other concerns, such as life or home insurance, also covers car insurance and you get a policy from them, you may be given a discount on your auto insurance for your devotion to their company. Alternately, you can also apply for the whole family’s car insurance policies in one insurance company and be granted of discounts for each of your plan. Do not hesitate to ask your insurer about these discounts to save bucks.

Other discounts you may avail of with your teen’s car insurance include loyalty discount, if you have been with your insurance company for a certain number of years, as well as multiple car discount, when you enroll more than one car for your teen.

Today’s guest post comes from Jenny. In her own words: “I am currently a junior in college and living in New York City. Going through the job recruitment process now has made me reflect a lot on the past 3 years of my life. Here are some things I wish I had been told on day one:”

Pick a major you love, not necessarily one that is related to the career you think you want.

There is a very simple reason for this: if the subject is something you enjoy learning, you will inevitably be good at it and that will lead to a high GPA. From experience, I can say that GPA has been the very first factor used by both large and mid-size firms when screening applicants’ resumes and thus is a deciding factor in landing your first internships and full-time jobs. It is to your dual advantage to have a high GPA while studying what you enjoy.

But what if I am a biology major and want to go into the financial services industry, you ask – shouldn’t I major in economics or finance, such as with the degree at this university? Not at all.

See, with all of the competition in today’s job market, companies have grown to love the “story hires”. These are people who have a story as to why they have decided to change their career path or explore other options and that makes them more interesting to employers and well-rounded as individuals. I know for a fact there are people working at one of the top investment banks on Wall Street right now who actually have medical degrees and used to be surgeons.

You can major in whatever you want, as long as you are able to talk about “transferrable skills” you acquired along the way that are relevant to the job.

Have a 5-Year Plan.

Although this is not Soviet Russia under Stalin, it is important to have an idea about what the next 5 years of your life will look like. I was blind-sided when my junior year of college rolled around, summer internship recruitment season was in full swing, and all of sudden all of the interviewers expected me to know exactly what location, what division and what group I want to work in. I felt like I had to decide the rest of my life in just 2 weeks.

Very often when young adults start college, they are advised that they should use this time (all 4 years) to explore. Though I am in no way against this, I do believe that “exploring” should be done in a specific direction. Because at the end of those 4 years, everyone will want the same thing: a job to start their career. The people who have done the research, know what to expect, and have a clearer sense of the direction of their career are in a much better position.

Take a few minutes to plan what classes to take when, which school clubs may be good to get involved in, and start talking to upperclassmen about their experiences so you know what to expect.

Start Talking to Upperclassmen About Their Experiences

Upperclassmen are a seriously under-valued and untapped resource for underclassmen. These are people who were just recently in your shoes and have survived it unscathed and that much wiser. Why not ask them about it?

A lot of times first-year (and second year) students are intimidated by upperclassmen and tend to shy away from interaction, let alone asking for advice. I remember I used to think upperclassmen were so much smarter and so busy that they could not possibly relate to me. Well, with time I have learned that all it takes is some courage to ask a question and the rest works out. You would be surprised how incredibly willing people are to give advice if you just ask for it.

I recently adopted a freshman buddy in this way. I was at an event and this girl sat down next to me, we started talking, and she later asked for my telephone number so that she may call me if she needs advice. I gladly gave it to her and now she texts me whenever she has questions.

The next time you’re in class, at a club meeting, sporting event or a company presentation, approach an upperclassman and ask a question. They were in your shoes just a year or two ago and can give you so much information about the right classes, professors, clubs, and internships that you would never be able to find on Google.

Jenny is a undergradute finance major attending college in New York and a first-time contributor on brip blap.